Pantera "The Great Southern Trendkill (2016, 2CD, Rhino Records, Digipak, 20th anniversary Edition, Remastered)"

The Great Southern Trendkill is the eighth studio album by American heavy metal band Pantera, released on May 7, 1996, through East West Records. It reached number 4 on the Billboard 200 chart, and stayed on the chart for 16 weeks. During the album's production, Phil Anselmo recorded the vocals alone at Trent Reznor's Nothing Studios in New Orleans[3] while Dimebag Darrell, Rex Brown, and Vinnie Paul recorded the music at Chasin Jason Studios in Dalworthington Gardens. This would be the Pantera's last studio album to be produced by Terry Date, who had worked with the band since Cowboys from Hell (1990).

"Floods", the album's longest song, contains a guitar solo considered by many to be Dimebag Darrell's finest. Guitar World magazine voted it as the 32nd greatest guitar solo of all-time, Darrell's highest-ranking of three solos to make the list (the other two being his solos from "Cemetery Gates", ranked 35th, and "Walk", ranked 57th).

The album is available as downloadable content for the video game Rock Band, with the exception of "Suicide Note Pt. I".

Considered Pantera's most aggressive album, The Great Southern Trendkill is known for featuring much screaming, most notably on "Suicide Note Pt. II" and "The Great Southern Trendkill" while also featuring some of the fastest tempos and most down-tuned guitars ("The Underground in America" and "(Reprise) Sandblasted Skin" were played in A=425Hz standard D tuning, with the 6th string tuned to a low G.) that the band ever recorded. It also has a more experimental nature, such as the acoustic guitars and ballads.

Unlike Pantera's first three major label albums, the vocals are often double-tracked and layered to create a more "demonic" effect. An example of this can be heard in the chorus of "13 Steps to Nowhere", when Phil Anselmo's singing voice is backed up by high-pitched screaming, done by Seth Putnam of the band Anal Cunt. Screams done by Anselmo on the song "The Great Southern Trendkill" were compared to Putnam.

The lyrical themes on The Great Southern Trendkill include drugs, a flood that ends mankind, finding deeper meaning, anger, and the media. The album features elements of thrash metal and death metal, but is mostly considered a groove metal album overall.

On August 12, 2016, Pantera announced the release of a 20th anniversary edition of The Great Southern Trendkill for October 21. The reissue features two discs, including a remastered version of the original album as well as 12 unreleased tracks (these include instrumentals, as well as alternative mixes and live recordings from the Dynamo Festival in 1998). In addition, a separate LP named The Great Southern Outtakes was released. It consists of songs also released on disc 2 of Trendkill's reissue except for the intro and early mix of "Suicide Note Part l".

Track listing

All tracks are written by Pantera.

1. "The Great Southern Trendkill" 3:47
2. "War Nerve" 4:53
3. "Drag the Waters" 4:55
4. "10's" 4:49
5. "13 Steps to Nowhere" 3:37
6. "Suicide Note Pt. I" 4:44
7. "Suicide Note Pt. II" 4:19
8. "Living Through Me (Hells' Wrath)" 4:50
9. "Floods" 6:59
10. "The Underground in America" 4:33
11. "(Reprise) Sandblasted Skin" 5:39

Total length: 53:05

Disc 2 (from The Great Southern Trendkill: 20th Anniversary Edition)

1. "The Great Southern Trendkill" (2016 Mix) 4:07
2. "War Nerve" (Live at Dynamo Festival, 1998) 5:21
3. "Drag the Waters" (Alternative Early Mix) 5:00
4. "10's" (Alternative Early Mix) 4:53
5. "13 Steps to Nowhere" (Instrumental Version) 3:40
6. "Suicide Note Pt. I" (Intro) 1:13
7. "Suicide Note Pt. I" (Alternative Early Mix) 3:53
8. "Suicide Note Pt. II" (Live at Dynamo Festival, 1998) 4:48
9. "Living Through Me (Hells' Wrath)" (Instrumental Version) 4:54
10. "Floods" (Alternative Early Mix) 7:19
11. "The Underground in America" (Alternative Early Mix) 3:56
12. "(Reprise) Sandblasted Skin" (Live at Dynamo Festival, 1998) 4:34

Total length: 53:38

Two-disc set wich includes the original album remastered, plus a dozen previously unreleased mixes, instrumentals, and live recordings. The set also features rare photos from the era, as well as new liner notes by rock critic and radio producer Katherine Turman that explore the stories behind the album and its legacy.

The second disc features an unreleased version of every album track, including two versions of "Suicide Note Pt. 1" - a rough mix of the track, along with a separate version of the introduction, which spotlights Dimebag on 12-string acoustic guitar. The second disc also features a newly remixed version of the title track, rough mixes for "Drag The Waters" and "The Underground In America," as well as instrumental takes for "13 Steps To Nowhere" and "Living Through Me (Hell's Wrath)." In addition to the studio recordings, the anniversary collection features three live tracks recorded at the Dynamo Festival in Holland in 1998: "War Nerve," "Suicide Note Pt. II," and "Sandblasted Skin."

There is a hidden track (0:41) after "(Reprise) Sandblasted Skin".

Recording information:

Recorded in DWG, TX at Chasin Jason Studios.

Mixed in Los Angeles, CA at Larrabee Sound Studios.

Vocals recorded at Nothing Studios, New Orleans, LA.

All songs written & arranged by Pantera.

Pantera "Cowboys From Hell (20th Anniversary Edition, Remastered)"

Cowboys from Hell is the fifth studio album and major label debut by American heavy metal band Pantera, released on July 24, 1990 by Atco Records.

After being turned down "28 times by every major label on the face of the Earth", Atco Records representative Mark Ross was asked by his boss, Derek Shulman (who was interested in signing them), to see the band perform after Hurricane Hugo stranded him in Texas. Ross was so impressed by the band's performance that he called his boss that night, suggesting that Pantera be signed to the label.

Ross on the performance:

"By the end of the first song, my jaw was on the floor. The sonic power of it all — the attitude and the musicianship — blew me away. Basically, you had to be an idiot to not think they're amazing. I mean, how could you see these guys and not think, 'Holy shit!'?"

Atco Records accepted but the band had to wait a six month period before they commenced recording. They began recording at Pantego Sound Studio in Pantego, Texas starting in February 1990 and finishing the record two months later. The band adopted a new sound and attitude, and the writing of what would become Cowboys from Hell saw the band exploring darker subject matters, while the guitar would be notably heavier, despite occasionally reverting to the hair metal formula. The band recorded Cowboys from Hell: The Demos, a self-produced demo album which featured 11 tracks, 10 of which would make the album cut. The last two tracks to be written were "Clash With Reality" and "Primal Concrete Sledge", while a song entitled "The Will to Survive" would be discarded early in the recording sessions.

The band were feeling confident about their material and themselves, finally feeling that they were making the kind of album they believed in. One key track to emerge during the writing was "Cemetery Gates", a seven-minute power ballad that would be the first song to show both their diversity and Anselmo’s vocal range. Although they had already recorded four albums prior to Cowboys from Hell, Pantera felt that this was their true debut, working with a professional producer and a major label for the first time and creating music that was not simply stealing from other similar bands in an attempt to attract attention.

The cover art depicts the band in a quaint western saloon. In reality, it is a 1910 photo of the "Cosmopolitan Saloon" in Telluride, Colorado. Dimebag Darrell is pictured in the center playing guitar, while Vinnie Paul is standing to his right counting money, Rex Brown is leaning against the counter top and Phil Anselmo is shown jumping in the air to Brown's left. Anselmo states that he jumped off a bar stool to get high up in the air and that it took him about ten takes until the cameramen got the shot of the desired style.

The album has been praised by most critics as it would prove to be one of the most influential albums in the metal scene in the 1990s and of all time, and would inspire a generation of musicians, particularly guitarists. IGN named Cowboys from Hell the 19th most influential heavy metal album of all-time.

They said of the album:

Along with Vulgar Display of Power, Pantera's fifth album is not only considered one of the band's best, but is also one of the defining albums of early '90s metal. The band's chemistry really begins to gel with collective symmetry here, as a pre-Dimebag Darrell (he was known as Diamond Darrell back then) rips the strings of his axe like a rabid weasel, frontman Phil Anselmo following in kind with chaotic vocal utterances, and the rhythm section of Vinnie Paul and Rex Brown keeping the rhythms in check and the whole mess glued together with low end prowess.

AllMusic says of the album:

Pantera's breakthrough album, Cowboys from Hell, is largely driven by the band's powerful rhythm section and guitarist Diamond Darrell(s) unbelievably forceful riffing, which skittered around the downbeats to produce unexpected rhythmic phrases and accents, as well as his inventive soloing.

The album was released on July 24, 1990 and was available on tape, CD, vinyl and a Limited Edition version (same album but in a long box). The album would become the band's breakthrough record as it became their first album to chart in 1992, reaching #27 on the Billboard Music Charts Top Heatseekers. In March 1995 the album entered the Swedish Charts for one week managing to peak at #46. The album has since gone on to attain both Gold (500,000 units) and Platinum (1,000,000 units) certifications in the U.S. as well as Gold status in the U.K. for sales of 100,000.

On September 14, 2010 a 20th anniversary edition was released with a remastered mix from the original analog recordings. The expanded edition features a bonus CD of previously unreleased live recordings and the Alive and Hostile E.P. The deluxe edition features an additional third CD with the previously unreleased demo track "The Will to Survive" (parts of the song were later used in the song "This Love" from Vulgar Display of Power) along with demo versions of ten songs from the original album.

The third disc of the deluxe set, Cowboys from Hell: The Demos, was released as a separate limited edition vinyl LP at the same time. It was exclusively available at Metal Club record stores. The 2010 reissue of the album managed to reach #117 on the Billboard 200 and #8 on Catalog Albums, selling 4,200.

The album was ranked #11 on the October 2006 issue of Guitar World magazine's list of the greatest 100 guitar albums of all time. It was ranked the #85 best heavy metal album of all time by Metal-Rules.com. IGN named Cowboys from Hell the 19th most influential heavy metal album of all-time. It is also credited as "defining" groove metal. 

Pantera toured alongside thrash acts Exodus and Suicidal Tendencies. In 1991, Rob Halford performed with the band onstage, which led Pantera (along with Annihilator) to open for Judas Priest on its first show in Europe. They also opened for bands like Fates Warning, Prong, Mind over Four and Morbid Angel, and co-headlined a North American tour with Wrathchild America. The band eventually landed a billing for the Monsters of Rock festival with AC/DC, Mötley Crüe, Metallica and The Black Crowes in September 1991, where they played to a crowd of over 500,000 in celebration of the new freedom of performing Western music in the former Soviet Union shortly before its collapse three months later.

Tracklist:

Disc 1

1. Cowboys from Hell 04:07   
2. Primal Concrete Sledge 02:13  
3. Psycho Holiday 05:19  
4. Heresy 04:47   
5. Cemetery Gates 07:03   
6. Domination 05:04   
7. Shattered 03:22   
8. Clash with Reality 05:16   
9. Medicine Man 05:15   
10. Message in Blood 05:10   
11. The Sleep 05:47
12. The Art of Shredding 04:20  

Time:   57:43

 

Disc 2

1. Domination 04:55  
2. Psycho Holiday 05:25  
3. The Art of Shredding 05:47  
4. Cowboys from Hell 05:02  
5. Cemetary Gates 07:01  
6. Primal Concrete Sledge 03:51  
7. Heresy 05:12  
8. Domination 07:01  
9. Primal Concrete Sledge 03:17  
10. Cowboys from Hell 04:16  
11. Heresy 04:58  
12. Psycho Holiday 05:19  

Time:   01:02:04

Disc 2 contains: 

- Previously unreleased versions of songs (tracks 1-7). 

- Alive & Hostile EP (tracks 8-12). 

Recording information: Recorded at Pantego Sound Studio, Pantego, Texas. 

Mixed at the Carriage House, Stamford, Connecticut. 

Mastered at Masterdisk, New York City, New York. 

Terry Date – producer, engineer, mixing

Pantera – producer, engineer, mixing

Matt Lane – assistant engineer

Matt Gililland – assistant engineer

Howie Weinberg – audio mastering

Pantera "Reinventing Hell: The Best of Pantera"

The International version of Far Beyond the Great Southern Cowboys' Vulgar Hits!, titled Reinventing Hell: The Best of Pantera (combination of the titles of their albums Reinventing the Steel and Cowboys from Hell), is almost identical. It has different artwork and a cardboard slip cover. It also has different tracks than its US counterpart and is available as a standard version or with a DVD.

Tracklist:

1. Cowboys from Hell 04:06   
2. Domination 05:05  
3. Cemetery Gates 07:03
4. Mouth for War 03:58
5. Walk 05:17  
6. This Love 06:34   
7. Fucking Hostile 02:50   
8. Becoming 03:07  
9. I'm Broken 04:26   
10. 5 Minutes Alone 05:52   
11. Planet Caravan (Black Sabbath cover) 04:05  
12. Drag the Waters 04:57  
13. Where You Come From 05:14   
14. Revolution Is My Name 05:19
15. Immortally Insane 05:14  
16. The Badge (Poison Idea cover) 03:56   

Time:     01:17:03  

Tracks 1–3 are found on Cowboys from Hell

Tracks 4–7 are found on Vulgar Display of Power

Tracks 8–11 are found on Far Beyond Driven

Track 12 is found on The Great Southern Trendkill

Track 13 is found on Official Live: 101 Proof

Track 14 is found on Reinventing the Steel

Track 15 is found on Revolution Is My Name or the Heavy Metal 2000 and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre soundtrack

Track 16 is found on Far Beyond Driven (Japanese and 'Driven Downunder' editions only) or Planet Caravan Part 1 and Planet Caravan Part 2 or The Crow soundtrack

Pantera "Revolution Is My Name (Single & Video)"

"Revolution Is My Name" is a song by American heavy metal band Pantera. It was the first single from the band's final album, Reinventing the Steel. It was also included on the band's compilation album Far Beyond the Great Southern Cowboys' Vulgar Hits!.

"Revolution Is My Name" reached number 28 on the Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks. The song was nominated for Best Metal Performance in the 2001 Grammys, but lost to Deftones' "Elite". However, it won a 2000 Metal Edge Readers' Choice Award for Song of the Year. The song's music video was voted as the 15th Greatest Metal Video of the 21st Century on Headbangers Ball in 2005.

The music video for the song was directed by Jim Van Bebber and produced by Grant Cihlar for 1171 Production Group. The video is a mix of various elements: between performances from the band and live footage. It also contains comical snippets of a sitcom-esque interpretation of the band's childhood, where the musicians are portrayed as small kids (with facial hair included) listening to Led Zeppelin and ZZ Top while jumping on the bed and playing oversized instruments. The video also includes flashes of the band's influences such as Black Sabbath and Kiss.

Track listing

Promo single

1. "Revolution Is My Name" (radio edit) 4:09
2. "Revolution Is My Name" (album version) 5:19

Extended play (EP)

All tracks are written by Pantera, except where noted.

1. "Revolution Is My Name" (radio edit) 4:09
2. "Hole in the Sky" (Black Sabbath cover) Osbourne/Iommi/Butler/Ward    4:17
3. "Immortally Insane" 5:13
4. "Cat Scratch Fever" (Ted Nugent cover) Ted Nugent 3:51

Pantera "Planet Caravan (Single & Video)"

"Planet Caravan" was covered by American heavy metal band Pantera for their 1994 album Far Beyond Driven.

The song was released as the second single from the Far Beyond Driven album, and the follow-up single to their hit single "I'm Broken" in 1994 on East West Records as a 12" single. It became Pantera's highest-charting single, peaking on the UK Singles Chart at number 21. Metal Hammer magazine ranked the cover of "Planet Caravan" number 31 on their list of the 50 best Pantera songs.

Track listing

American single

1. "Planet Caravan" (Album Version) 4:03
2. "Cowboys from Hell" (Live) 5:08
3. "Primal Concrete Sledge" (Live) 3:57
4. "By Demons Be Driven" (Biomechanical Mix) 4:16

European single 1

1. "Planet Caravan" (Black Sabbath cover) 4:03
2. "The Badge" (Poison Idea cover) 3:56
3. "A New Level" (Live) 5:43
4. "Becoming" (Live) 4:04

European single 2

1. "Planet Caravan" (Black Sabbath cover) 4:03
2. "The Badge" (Poison Idea cover) 3:56
3. "Domination" (Live) 4:55
4. "Hollow" (Live) 2:27

Pantera "5 Minutes Alone (Single & Video)"

"5 Minutes Alone" is a song by American heavy metal band Pantera from their 1994 album Far Beyond Driven. The song also appears on the band's live album. The song was released as downloadable content for Rock Revolution and Rock Band 3 and can be heard during a cut-scene in Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier.

Speaking about what the song is about, Pantera's drummer Vinnie Paul said:

"The story behind this song is we were opening for Megadeth, and there was a guy that was flipping us off the whole show and so we stopped the show. And I was like, 'Listen, in case you haven't noticed there's 18,000 people who really dig what we're doing. You're the only one doing that stupid shit without even having to egg the crowd on.' Ten guys just jumped the guy and beat the shit out of him. His dad called the manager after all the lawsuits and this and that, and basically said, 'Give me five minutes with that Phil Anselmo guy. I want to whup his ass.' "

Pantera's vocalist Phil Anselmo spoke about what the song is about saying:

"There are always gold-diggers out there. The way I remember it was there was this kid that swore that I jumped off the stage and beat him up. Well, that was bullshit. That did not happen at all. When the father asked for five minutes alone with me, our manager responded aptly and perfectly: 'No, you don't.' [Laughs] 'I really doubt that,' and basically hung up on the guy. But once that story was conveyed to me, it actually made me angry because it wasn't fucking true. I basically plucked out those words from my agitator's mouth and yeah, man, 'five minutes alone,' fucking bring it."

Upon release, the song had an immediate impact on the band's fanbase, quickly becoming one of Pantera's most popular songs.

Metal Hammer ranked "5 Minutes Alone" number six on their list of the 50 best Pantera songs.

"5 Minutes Alone" was covered by the bands Lamb of God, Ill Nino, DevilDriver, Soilwork, and Killswitch Engage in Dallas, Texas on December 8, 2007 on the 3rd anniversary of Dimebag Darrell's death. It featured 3 vocalists, 5 guitarists, and 3 drummers.

The song was covered by Nonpoint for the Metal Hammer tribute album Getcha Pull! A Tribute to Dimebag Darrell as a downloadable bonus track. Nonpoint then released the song on their 2010 studio album Miracle.

Texas deathcore band Upon a Burning Body recorded the song as well. It can be said as another bonus track for Getcha Pull! A Tribute to Dimebag Darrell.

Florida deathcore band Traitors covered the song as well, and is posted on their Bandcamp.